By Brenda South, MSc in Psychology

Does leadership matter to you? Whether your job requires you to manage people, life success is often about your ability to convince others that they should buy into your idea, vision, product or service. The best leadership advice I ever received came from an older, successful business person who has consistently been supported by a dedicated, loyal and high performing staff:

Their advice: Always hire people smarter than you and then get out of their way. It goes without saying that you must always have their back!

For those of us who learn by doing, not reading, our fantasy leadership book would tell us how we can learn about leadership. This book might contain the following ideas:

• First, last and always keep learning about yourself. You can’t lead others without knowing who you are!
• Choose your mentors well and stay with them for many years
• Be sure to have some amazing bosses and some horrible bosses
• Coach children’s sports teams
• Join volunteer boards
• Seek out tough jobs – and try to have a safety net when you take them!
• Treat leadership like other deep practices – gather with peers on a regular basis to compare notes, cases and lessons learned. There are only a handful of leadership principles, but you can never stop reflecting on them.
• Be grateful for your failures and reflect on them over time. The lessons from failure are irreplaceable.
• Ask for advice early and often from all sorts of people, especially your subordinates

My top five picks for best books on leadership is an admittedly eclectic group. They include:

1. Science of Leadership- Julian Barling

“The Science of Leadership” is evidenced-based, with research from around the world, and includes Barling’s two decades of experience in leadership development with executives. The nature of organizational leadership is examined and whether leaders “matter”. Barling explores whether leadership is “born or made”, as well as the effectiveness of leadership in organizations. He evaluates what can be learned from leadership in sports, the political arena, and schools, and devotes individual chapters to topics that include gender and leadership, destructive leadership, and followership.

2. Leading at a Higher Level – Ken Blanchard

Ken Blanchard’s books are classic best sellers, including “The One Minute Manager”. “Leading at a Higher Level” brings together Blanchard’s best ideas about world-class leadership: ensuring people know who you are, where you’re going, and the values that guide you; creating targets and visions based on the “triple bottom line”. This book includes Blanchard’s breakthrough work on delivering legendary customer service, creating “Raving Fans,” and building “Partnerships for Performance” that empower everyone who works for and with you. It offers up-to-date techniques for leading yourself, individuals, teams, and entire organizations.

3. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t – Jim Collins

Though most businesses fail, some succeed. To determine why, Collins examined tens of thousands of publications and interview transcripts. He then conducted a 5 year study of 28 companies, revealing the qualities needed to develop a successful business. “Good to Great” emphasizes the point that success doesn’t happen overnight: progress is a process. For entrepreneurs and leaders who feel frustrated, tired, and out of steam, this book helps reinvigorate drive and passion.

Quote: “Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline.”

4. The Leadership Challenge – Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner

In print since 1987, with over 2.5 million copies sold. Based on Kouzes and Posner’s extensive research, this new edition casts their enduring work in context for today’s world, proving that leadership is a relationship that must be nurtured, and most importantly, that it can be learned. Features over 100 case studies and examples, which show The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership in action around the world. Focuses on the toughest organizational challenges leaders face today

5. Start With Why – Simon Sinek

Over 28 million people have watched Simon Sinek’s TED Talk “Start with Why” — the third most popular TED of all time. Sinek proposes that leaders who’ve had the greatest influence in the world all think, act, and communicate the same way. They realize that people won’t truly buy into a product, service, movement, or idea until they understand the WHY behind it. “Start with Why” provides a foundational understanding of what it means to lead with purpose.

Happy Reading!